Cooper Industries, a $4.5billion global manufacturer of electrical products and hardware, will change its place of incorporation from Ohio in the US to Bermuda, subject to approval of the majority shareholders. A new holding company, called Cooper Industries Ltd, will be set up in Bermuda and will be the parent of Cooper Industries Inc in the US.

Upon completion of the reorganisation each share of the US company's common stock will automatically convert into a share of the Bermuda company's common stock and will have substantially the same attributes as before. Cooper Industries Ltd will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the CBE symbol, which is the same symbol used currently.

John Riley, chairman, president and chief executive officer, explained: ''More and more of Cooper's revenues are being derived from operations and customers outside the United States. We do not see this changing. In fact expansion of our international activities is an important part of our ongoing business strategy, and we expect that significant growth opportunities exist in the international market place.

''Consequently we believe that by changing our legal domicile to Bermuda we will generate increased value and returns for our shareholders because we will be able to take advantage of business, financial and strategic opportunities that are not available under our current structure. The reorganisation will accelerate our strategic initiatives, enhance our competitiveness regarding international acquisition opportunities and improve our global tax position to generate increased cash flow.''

A special meeting of shareholders will be called shortly to vote on the proposal. A registration statement has been filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.